WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.099 welcome in we spend so much of our time much 00:00:04.099 --> 00:00:06.580 time yeah so much of our time looking at these 00:00:06.580 --> 00:00:09.660 these massive sweeping industry trends right 00:00:09.660 --> 00:00:12.679 analyzing data trying to understand the you know 00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:15.240 the macro movements of the creative world but 00:00:15.240 --> 00:00:17.780 some of the most profound insights you can gather 00:00:17.780 --> 00:00:21.199 come from zooming all the way in down to the 00:00:21.199 --> 00:00:23.780 micro level exactly zooming all the way in on 00:00:23.780 --> 00:00:27.620 a single really compelling artistic journey so 00:00:27.620 --> 00:00:30.129 for you listening today we are taking a comprehensive 00:00:30.129 --> 00:00:33.369 look at the career trajectory and the, frankly, 00:00:33.530 --> 00:00:36.549 highly curated artistic identity of American 00:00:36.549 --> 00:00:38.710 singer -songwriter Morgan Saint. Yeah, and our 00:00:38.710 --> 00:00:41.030 source material for today gives us a really unique 00:00:41.030 --> 00:00:43.210 vantage point for this deep dive. It really does. 00:00:43.469 --> 00:00:45.409 We're working from a concentrated Wikipedia profile, 00:00:45.630 --> 00:00:48.770 sure, but more importantly, we're analyzing the 00:00:48.770 --> 00:00:51.469 rich trail of critical reference points, the 00:00:51.469 --> 00:00:53.810 album reviews, and the magazine features that 00:00:53.810 --> 00:00:56.049 actually serve as the citations for that profile. 00:00:56.270 --> 00:00:58.640 The citations are where the real story is. Exactly. 00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:01.179 It's essentially doing like archaeological work 00:01:01.179 --> 00:01:03.719 on a pop persona. We're looking at the raw materials 00:01:03.719 --> 00:01:06.019 an artist uses to construct their public self. 00:01:06.219 --> 00:01:07.939 It's all right there in the citations when you 00:01:07.939 --> 00:01:09.439 look closely enough. And the mission for you 00:01:09.439 --> 00:01:11.980 today is to uncover how an illustration student 00:01:11.980 --> 00:01:15.000 from a small New York town evolved into what 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:17.079 music critics have literally called a, quote, 00:01:17.239 --> 00:01:20.370 left of center pop star. And an idol to outsiders. 00:01:20.689 --> 00:01:23.750 Yes, an idol to outsiders. It is a really unexpected 00:01:23.750 --> 00:01:26.750 pivot moving from a prestigious visual illustration 00:01:26.750 --> 00:01:30.950 program into major label synth pop. It's quite 00:01:30.950 --> 00:01:33.790 a leap. Huge leap. And the way she has built 00:01:33.790 --> 00:01:36.310 her world is just a fascinating case study in 00:01:36.310 --> 00:01:38.150 modern branding. We're going to break down the 00:01:38.150 --> 00:01:40.930 actual mechanics of crafting that unique artistic 00:01:40.930 --> 00:01:43.810 persona. Right. The goal is for you to consider. 00:01:44.349 --> 00:01:47.049 How these strategies, you know, deliberate visual 00:01:47.049 --> 00:01:49.290 signaling, niche audience building, and strategic 00:01:49.290 --> 00:01:52.730 patience might actually apply to how you present 00:01:52.730 --> 00:01:54.969 your own creative project. Or your own business. 00:01:55.189 --> 00:01:57.129 Yeah, or your business to the world. Because 00:01:57.129 --> 00:01:59.629 crafting an identity is an art form, and Morgan 00:01:59.629 --> 00:02:02.030 Saint's trajectory provides a very, very clear 00:02:02.030 --> 00:02:04.549 blueprint. Okay, let's unpack this. The foundation 00:02:04.549 --> 00:02:07.189 of this story actually starts outside the traditional 00:02:07.189 --> 00:02:09.969 music industry hubs. Right, geographically speaking. 00:02:10.250 --> 00:02:16.069 Yeah. Born in 1997. Her real name is Morgan Gildersleeve. 00:02:16.250 --> 00:02:19.449 She hails from Mattatech, New York. Out in Suffolk 00:02:19.449 --> 00:02:21.270 County. Right, Suffolk County on Long Island. 00:02:21.449 --> 00:02:24.669 And growing up there, it gave her a degree of 00:02:24.669 --> 00:02:28.610 separation from the noise and the immediate trend 00:02:28.610 --> 00:02:31.030 cycle of the city. And that geographic isolation 00:02:31.030 --> 00:02:34.169 is often a crucial incubator for creative development. 00:02:34.590 --> 00:02:37.469 How so? Well, when an artist is somewhat removed 00:02:37.469 --> 00:02:40.189 from the absolute epicenter of the industry during 00:02:40.189 --> 00:02:42.949 their formative years, they have the quiet space. 00:02:43.180 --> 00:02:45.599 required to cultivate something wholly their 00:02:45.599 --> 00:02:47.680 own. Oh, instead of just copying whatever is 00:02:47.680 --> 00:02:49.759 trendy down the street. Exactly. Rather than 00:02:49.759 --> 00:02:52.159 just mirroring whatever is currently dominating 00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:54.580 the local scene, they build an internal world. 00:02:54.900 --> 00:02:57.759 Her next step, however, is where the real foundation 00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:00.740 of her specific brand is laid. The college years. 00:03:01.060 --> 00:03:03.159 Right. The sources note she went on to graduate 00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:05.199 from the Parsons School of Design in New York 00:03:05.199 --> 00:03:07.879 City. Which is incredibly prestigious. Highly 00:03:07.879 --> 00:03:11.280 prestigious. But the key detail here is her major. 00:03:11.719 --> 00:03:14.280 She majored in illustration. See, that detail 00:03:14.280 --> 00:03:16.919 right there is the skeleton key to understanding 00:03:16.919 --> 00:03:19.479 her entire career. It really is. An illustration 00:03:19.479 --> 00:03:22.340 degree from Parsons for someone who is going 00:03:22.340 --> 00:03:25.979 to become a major label synth pop artist. I mean, 00:03:26.000 --> 00:03:28.680 it completely reframes how you look at her work. 00:03:28.840 --> 00:03:30.960 It changes the whole context. It clearly bled 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:32.740 into how she introduced herself to the public. 00:03:32.819 --> 00:03:34.960 There is a specific reference in the sources 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:38.599 to a 2017 feature in Vogue magazine. A huge deal 00:03:38.599 --> 00:03:41.759 for a debut artist. Massive. just highlight her 00:03:41.759 --> 00:03:44.259 music they specifically pointed out her quote 00:03:44.259 --> 00:03:49.180 provocative mullet haircut yeah and the undeniable 00:03:49.180 --> 00:03:51.639 connection between her visual arts degree and 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:54.479 her physical aesthetic that is the actual engine 00:03:54.479 --> 00:03:56.659 of her early success explain that connection 00:03:56.659 --> 00:03:59.050 a bit more in the modern music industry Having 00:03:59.050 --> 00:04:02.370 a compelling voice or a structurally perfect 00:04:02.370 --> 00:04:05.530 pop song is rarely enough to break through the 00:04:05.530 --> 00:04:07.810 sheer volume of daily uploads anymore. There's 00:04:07.810 --> 00:04:11.110 just too much noise. Way too much noise. Tens 00:04:11.110 --> 00:04:14.240 of thousands of songs a day. The musicians who 00:04:14.240 --> 00:04:16.779 build lasting careers are the ones who construct 00:04:16.779 --> 00:04:19.740 a comprehensive visual and sonic world for their 00:04:19.740 --> 00:04:21.980 listeners to inhabit. And an illustration major 00:04:21.980 --> 00:04:24.459 is uniquely equipped for that. Perfectly equipped. 00:04:24.519 --> 00:04:27.600 They are trained to tell a complete, compelling 00:04:27.600 --> 00:04:30.740 story through visual mediums. They understand 00:04:30.740 --> 00:04:33.480 color theory. They understand composition. They 00:04:33.480 --> 00:04:35.779 know exactly how to evoke a specific emotional 00:04:35.779 --> 00:04:38.980 response before a single word is spoken or sung. 00:04:39.339 --> 00:04:41.980 It's brilliant branding. But do you think coming 00:04:41.980 --> 00:04:44.459 out of a visual arts background gave her an unfair 00:04:44.459 --> 00:04:47.319 advantage over artists who solely focus on the 00:04:47.319 --> 00:04:50.769 audio? Or does it risk making the music secondary 00:04:50.769 --> 00:04:52.910 to the image? I don't think it makes the music 00:04:52.910 --> 00:04:55.449 secondary at all. It acts as a translation layer. 00:04:55.610 --> 00:04:58.009 A translation layer. Yes. When she steps out 00:04:58.009 --> 00:04:59.949 with a provocative mullet that gets the attention 00:04:59.949 --> 00:05:03.170 of Vogue right at her debut, that is an illustrator 00:05:03.170 --> 00:05:06.730 using her own image as the canvas. Ah, I see. 00:05:06.769 --> 00:05:08.930 She is visually signaling to the audience exactly 00:05:08.930 --> 00:05:11.230 who she is and what her music is going to sound 00:05:11.230 --> 00:05:13.769 like before you even press play. Because a mullet 00:05:13.769 --> 00:05:16.490 in 2017 wasn't the ubiquitous trend it became 00:05:16.490 --> 00:05:19.189 later on. Not at all. It was a deliberate sharp 00:05:19.189 --> 00:05:22.949 divergence from the polished symmetrical aesthetic 00:05:22.949 --> 00:05:25.990 expected of a new female pop signee at that time. 00:05:26.350 --> 00:05:28.930 It told the listener to expect something unconventional. 00:05:28.949 --> 00:05:31.430 Exactly. She is basically illustrating her own 00:05:31.430 --> 00:05:34.490 pop star persona in real time. And that deliberate 00:05:34.490 --> 00:05:36.990 signaling worked. It really worked because her 00:05:36.990 --> 00:05:39.089 breakthrough happened with incredible velocity. 00:05:39.329 --> 00:05:42.569 Very fast. Moving into that 2017 to 2018 era, 00:05:42.790 --> 00:05:45.889 she gets signed to Epic Records. A major label. 00:05:46.029 --> 00:05:49.550 Yep. She drops her debut EP titled 17 Hero in 00:05:49.550 --> 00:05:52.350 2017 and then follows it up incredibly rapidly 00:05:52.350 --> 00:05:55.949 with her second EP titled Alien in 2018. Which 00:05:55.949 --> 00:05:58.930 featured the track On Fire. Right, On Fire. The 00:05:58.930 --> 00:06:01.470 momentum of those two years is just wild to look 00:06:01.470 --> 00:06:03.990 at. The momentum of those releases reveals a 00:06:03.990 --> 00:06:06.129 highly aggressive strategy from Epic Records. 00:06:06.230 --> 00:06:08.350 Because keeping attention is hard. Maintaining 00:06:08.350 --> 00:06:11.009 attention after a debut is one of the notoriously 00:06:11.009 --> 00:06:13.629 difficult challenges for any new artist. The 00:06:13.629 --> 00:06:16.430 label clearly saw a fully realized vision that 00:06:16.430 --> 00:06:17.949 they wanted to push into the market quickly. 00:06:18.509 --> 00:06:21.250 Capitalizing on the visual intrigue she had already 00:06:21.250 --> 00:06:23.529 established with the Vogue piece and the look. 00:06:23.769 --> 00:06:25.850 Precisely. And the market responded immediately. 00:06:25.910 --> 00:06:28.730 The sources indicate she achieved millions of 00:06:28.730 --> 00:06:31.029 streams. Out of the gate. Out of the gate. And 00:06:31.029 --> 00:06:33.910 received highly positive reviews. And the specific 00:06:33.910 --> 00:06:36.649 language the critics used, it perfectly aligns 00:06:36.649 --> 00:06:38.970 with that visual identity we just analyzed. The 00:06:38.970 --> 00:06:41.459 reviews are very telling. They really are. The 00:06:41.459 --> 00:06:44.620 publication idolater reviewed the Alien EP and 00:06:44.620 --> 00:06:48.540 called it an, quote, otherworldly synth pop adventure. 00:06:49.459 --> 00:06:52.259 Otherworldly. Yeah. And then Ones to Watch dubbed 00:06:52.259 --> 00:06:55.500 her the, quote, left of center pop star of your 00:06:55.500 --> 00:06:59.139 dreams and an idol to outsiders. What's fascinating 00:06:59.139 --> 00:07:01.899 here is how those critical labels function strategically. 00:07:02.120 --> 00:07:04.160 The left of center stuff. Right. Left of center 00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:06.439 and idol to outsiders. Yeah. How those function 00:07:06.439 --> 00:07:09.360 within mainstream pop music is really interesting. 00:07:09.959 --> 00:07:12.279 Pop music, by its very definition, historically 00:07:12.279 --> 00:07:15.480 aims for the absolute broadest denominator. The 00:07:15.480 --> 00:07:17.399 middle of the road. It wants to be palatable 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:19.680 to everyone in a grocery store or a waiting room. 00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:22.480 But carving out a niche on the margins, that 00:07:22.480 --> 00:07:25.220 is how you build an invulnerable foundation today. 00:07:25.480 --> 00:07:27.439 Because you aren't fighting with everyone else 00:07:27.439 --> 00:07:30.540 for the exact center. Exactly. When an artist 00:07:30.540 --> 00:07:33.360 is dubbed an idol to outsiders, it indicates 00:07:33.360 --> 00:07:35.560 they are actively rejecting the middle of the 00:07:35.560 --> 00:07:38.220 road. Because when a listener feels like an outsider... 00:07:38.509 --> 00:07:40.569 and an artist speaks directly to that isolation, 00:07:40.930 --> 00:07:43.689 the relationship moves past casual listening. 00:07:43.889 --> 00:07:46.329 It becomes deeply personal. They bond with the 00:07:46.329 --> 00:07:49.009 artist, they defend the artist, they become a 00:07:49.009 --> 00:07:52.870 community. By naming an EP alien, by sporting 00:07:52.870 --> 00:07:55.589 a look that defies conventional pop expectations, 00:07:56.050 --> 00:07:59.709 and by leaning into a synth -pop sound critics 00:07:59.709 --> 00:08:03.310 call otherworldly, she is sending out a very 00:08:03.310 --> 00:08:06.339 specific beacon. A beacon for her people. Yes. 00:08:06.720 --> 00:08:09.100 This is a vital lesson for you in audience building, 00:08:09.259 --> 00:08:11.740 regardless of your industry. If you try to be 00:08:11.740 --> 00:08:13.920 for everyone, you risk being for no one. Oh, 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:16.540 that's a great point. By actively choosing to 00:08:16.540 --> 00:08:19.040 be left of center, you invite a level of devotion 00:08:19.040 --> 00:08:22.240 that a mass market generalized brand simply cannot 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:25.100 generate. And to cap off that era, she hit a 00:08:25.100 --> 00:08:27.620 major live milestone by opening for the established 00:08:27.620 --> 00:08:30.180 electronic duo Goldfrapp on their national tour, 00:08:30.339 --> 00:08:33.019 which serves as the perfect live action reinforcement 00:08:33.019 --> 00:08:35.509 of that brand. Totally. Goldfrapp has commanded 00:08:35.509 --> 00:08:39.850 that ethereal electronic space for years. So 00:08:39.850 --> 00:08:42.190 opening for them isn't just about getting in 00:08:42.190 --> 00:08:45.110 front of a crowd. It's a cosign. It is a cosign 00:08:45.110 --> 00:08:48.070 from the royalty of the genre. It tells the industry 00:08:48.070 --> 00:08:50.909 exactly which lineage Morgan Saint belongs to. 00:08:51.009 --> 00:08:54.350 It is brilliant contextual curation by her team. 00:08:54.450 --> 00:08:56.570 Right. You place an artist who calls herself 00:08:56.570 --> 00:08:59.169 an alien in front of an audience that already 00:08:59.169 --> 00:09:02.070 worships otherworldly synth pop, and the conversion 00:09:02.070 --> 00:09:05.470 rate of casual listeners to hardcore fans is 00:09:05.470 --> 00:09:07.830 going to be exceptionally high. You are preaching 00:09:07.830 --> 00:09:10.610 to the exact right choir. Exactly. Now, here's 00:09:10.610 --> 00:09:12.549 where it gets really interesting. Okay. After 00:09:12.549 --> 00:09:15.190 establishing herself as this otherworldly idol 00:09:15.190 --> 00:09:18.070 to outsiders with a highly armored sonic and 00:09:18.070 --> 00:09:21.049 visual identity, the narrative takes a noticeable 00:09:21.049 --> 00:09:24.009 shift inward. A very distinct pivot. In July 00:09:24.009 --> 00:09:27.519 of 2020, she released an EP titled Help. And 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:29.399 the sources explicitly describe this release 00:09:29.399 --> 00:09:32.539 as, quote, her most personal project yet. That 00:09:32.539 --> 00:09:35.360 phrase is a significant pivot point in any creative 00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:37.360 trajectory. The most personal project phrase. 00:09:37.659 --> 00:09:40.720 Yes. And artists will frequently use their debut 00:09:40.720 --> 00:09:44.580 era to construct a highly stylized, almost defensive 00:09:44.580 --> 00:09:47.620 persona. Like the alien. Right. The alien or 00:09:47.620 --> 00:09:50.500 the outsider is a protective shell. It allows 00:09:50.500 --> 00:09:53.200 them to navigate the brutal music industry without 00:09:53.200 --> 00:09:56.039 exposing their core self to criticism. Oh, that 00:09:56.039 --> 00:09:58.399 makes so much sense. If they criticize the alien, 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:01.259 they aren't criticizing the real Morgan. Precisely. 00:10:01.259 --> 00:10:03.620 But as they mature and secure their footing, 00:10:03.740 --> 00:10:06.669 that armor naturally starts to come off. The 00:10:06.669 --> 00:10:08.610 art transitions from external world building 00:10:08.610 --> 00:10:11.929 to internal excavation. And that internal excavation 00:10:11.929 --> 00:10:14.909 led directly to a massive cinematic milestone 00:10:14.909 --> 00:10:17.889 for her. The sync placement. Yeah. The title 00:10:17.889 --> 00:10:21.250 track of that 2020 EP, H .E .L .P., was featured 00:10:21.250 --> 00:10:23.529 in the movie Songbird. Which was a major production. 00:10:23.830 --> 00:10:27.009 Starring K .J. Apa and Sophia Carson. She leaped 00:10:27.009 --> 00:10:29.250 right from the new left -of -center touring stage 00:10:29.250 --> 00:10:32.129 onto the silver screen. Landing a major film 00:10:32.129 --> 00:10:35.169 sync like that is a powerful mechanism for expanding 00:10:35.169 --> 00:10:37.919 an art. But the correlation here is what you 00:10:37.919 --> 00:10:39.480 should really pay attention to. Which correlation? 00:10:39.860 --> 00:10:41.679 The fact that it was her most personal project 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:44.279 yet that landed the major placement. Oh, right. 00:10:44.399 --> 00:10:46.779 Not the otherworldly stuff. Right. There is a 00:10:46.779 --> 00:10:48.720 deep psychological truth in that progression. 00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:51.279 Often the more hyper -specific, vulnerable, and 00:10:51.279 --> 00:10:54.299 personal you are in your art, the more universally 00:10:54.299 --> 00:10:56.759 applicable it becomes to other mediums. That 00:10:56.759 --> 00:10:59.639 is so true. By dropping the alien persona and 00:10:59.639 --> 00:11:02.799 releasing a project literally titled Help, she 00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:05.519 connected on a much broader mainstream level. 00:11:05.679 --> 00:11:08.080 It is a beautiful paradox for anyone making art 00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:10.539 or building a brand today. It really is. The 00:11:10.539 --> 00:11:13.240 human element, the raw vulnerability, is exactly 00:11:13.240 --> 00:11:16.759 what a music supervisor for a film needs to soundtrack 00:11:16.759 --> 00:11:19.919 a big emotional narrative moment. When you are 00:11:19.919 --> 00:11:22.059 watching a narrative film, the music needs to 00:11:22.059 --> 00:11:24.000 anchor the human emotion of the scene. Right. 00:11:24.100 --> 00:11:27.539 A detached, otherworldly synth pop track might 00:11:27.539 --> 00:11:29.340 sound really cool, but it doesn't necessarily 00:11:29.340 --> 00:11:31.879 drive emotional resonance on screen. It doesn't 00:11:31.879 --> 00:11:34.669 make you cry in the theater. Exactly. The left 00:11:34.669 --> 00:11:36.789 of center aesthetics get you noticed by the critics 00:11:36.789 --> 00:11:40.149 in 2018. But the raw personal vulnerability gets 00:11:40.149 --> 00:11:43.230 your song placed in a film with KJ Apa in 2020. 00:11:43.509 --> 00:11:45.590 It demonstrates a striking maturation of her 00:11:45.590 --> 00:11:48.269 artistic identity. She's moving from pure concept 00:11:48.269 --> 00:11:51.409 to pure emotion. A huge step forward. Which brings 00:11:51.409 --> 00:11:53.889 us right to the present day. And it requires 00:11:53.889 --> 00:11:56.610 a massive leap forward in the timeline. The sources 00:11:56.610 --> 00:12:00.169 take us to January 2025. A significant jump. 00:12:00.250 --> 00:12:02.809 Huge jump. This is the release of her current 00:12:02.809 --> 00:12:05.549 LP, titled Out of the Blue. Her current era. 00:12:05.649 --> 00:12:08.190 Yes. It features singles like the title track 00:12:08.190 --> 00:12:10.450 Out of the Blue and a song called 15 Forever. 00:12:10.850 --> 00:12:12.929 And to really give us a sense of her headspace 00:12:12.929 --> 00:12:15.850 in this current era, there is a piece from Paper 00:12:15.850 --> 00:12:18.269 Magazine covering her right now. What's the headline? 00:12:18.470 --> 00:12:20.950 The title of their feature is, quote, Morgan 00:12:20.950 --> 00:12:24.500 Saint Wants to Make Love Last. Wow. Yeah. So 00:12:24.500 --> 00:12:26.840 what does this all mean? We are looking at a 00:12:26.840 --> 00:12:29.860 nearly five year gap between her 2020 EP Help 00:12:29.860 --> 00:12:33.600 and this 2025 LP Out of the Blue. In the modern 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:36.179 streaming economy, a five year gap between projects 00:12:36.179 --> 00:12:38.120 is practically a lifetime. It's an eternity. 00:12:38.379 --> 00:12:41.200 The industry moves at a relentless pace and algorithms 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:43.960 absolutely punish inactivity. They zero you out. 00:12:44.340 --> 00:12:46.480 Surviving a hiatus of that length while still 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:48.700 releasing on a major label like Epic Records 00:12:48.700 --> 00:12:51.080 requires an immense amount of strategic patience. 00:12:51.399 --> 00:12:53.259 It suggests that this wasn't just idle time, 00:12:53.340 --> 00:12:56.440 right? No, it suggests a period of profound artistic 00:12:56.440 --> 00:12:59.460 restructuring behind the scenes. It also requires 00:12:59.460 --> 00:13:01.539 an incredible amount of faith from the label 00:13:01.539 --> 00:13:04.379 to keep an artist on the roster for half a decade 00:13:04.379 --> 00:13:07.179 without a major release. If we connect this to 00:13:07.179 --> 00:13:09.559 the bigger picture, the language we've tracked 00:13:09.559 --> 00:13:12.259 from the sources reveals the scope of that restructuring. 00:13:12.379 --> 00:13:14.879 Let's map it out. We started with a debut titled 00:13:14.879 --> 00:13:19.059 17 Hero. We moved to being an alien, then a plea 00:13:19.059 --> 00:13:22.019 for help. And now we arrive at a single titled 00:13:22.019 --> 00:13:25.720 15 Forever. supported by a magazine profile declaring 00:13:25.720 --> 00:13:28.700 she wants to make love last. The thematic contrast 00:13:28.700 --> 00:13:31.580 is wild when you map it out like that. It really 00:13:31.580 --> 00:13:33.980 is. It journeys from this isolated, defensive 00:13:33.980 --> 00:13:36.659 aesthetic into something deeply grounded in human 00:13:36.659 --> 00:13:39.980 connection, longevity, and time. There is a deeply 00:13:39.980 --> 00:13:42.700 embedded theme of youth, the passage of time, 00:13:42.820 --> 00:13:44.500 and nostalgia running through all these titles. 00:13:44.580 --> 00:13:48.120 From 17 to 15. Right. Going from 17 hero at the 00:13:48.120 --> 00:13:50.620 genesis of her career to looking back with a 00:13:50.620 --> 00:13:53.299 song called 15 Forever eight years later is a 00:13:53.299 --> 00:13:55.840 fascinating psychological arc. It really makes 00:13:55.840 --> 00:13:58.580 you think about how artists process time. It 00:13:58.580 --> 00:14:01.379 encourages you to analyze how artists process 00:14:01.379 --> 00:14:04.460 their own aging. Within an industry that is frankly 00:14:04.460 --> 00:14:07.559 obsessed with youth. Oh, heavily obsessed. The 00:14:07.559 --> 00:14:09.700 outsider persona is frequently rooted in the 00:14:09.700 --> 00:14:12.279 immediate angst of being young and feeling misunderstood. 00:14:12.820 --> 00:14:16.039 But you can't be that forever. No. As an artist 00:14:16.039 --> 00:14:19.259 ages, the focus inevitably shifts toward preservation. 00:14:19.960 --> 00:14:22.879 The underlying question changes from, how do 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:26.259 I rebel against the world? To, how do I hold 00:14:26.259 --> 00:14:29.490 on to these feelings? How do I make love last? 00:14:29.750 --> 00:14:31.870 She has seemingly arrived at a place where she 00:14:31.870 --> 00:14:33.929 doesn't need the alien moniker to define her 00:14:33.929 --> 00:14:36.220 anymore. She's outgrown the armor. The title 00:14:36.220 --> 00:14:38.620 Out of the Blue itself suggests a sudden clarity 00:14:38.620 --> 00:14:41.559 or something arriving unexpectedly after a long 00:14:41.559 --> 00:14:44.360 period of quiet reflection. It makes you wonder 00:14:44.360 --> 00:14:46.399 how the illustration student from Matatuck views 00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:48.620 the metamorphosis she's undergone. It speaks 00:14:48.620 --> 00:14:51.100 volumes about the life cycle of a creative career. 00:14:51.340 --> 00:14:53.940 It really does. For you listening, it is a reminder 00:14:53.940 --> 00:14:56.860 that your brand or your artistic output must 00:14:56.860 --> 00:14:59.139 be allowed to evolve. You can't stay stagnant. 00:14:59.320 --> 00:15:02.600 The Morgan Saint of 2017, armed with a provocative 00:15:02.600 --> 00:15:05.759 mullet and otherworldly synth pop. was exactly 00:15:05.759 --> 00:15:07.940 the disruptor she needed to be to break through 00:15:07.940 --> 00:15:09.460 the noise. She needed that to get in the door. 00:15:09.659 --> 00:15:12.580 But the Morgan Saint of 2025, singing about nostalgia 00:15:12.580 --> 00:15:15.240 and making love last, is who she needs to be 00:15:15.240 --> 00:15:17.919 to endure. Attempting to artificially sustain 00:15:17.919 --> 00:15:21.000 the angst of your debut era usually results in 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:23.620 stagnation. Endurance is the defining metric 00:15:23.620 --> 00:15:26.879 here. Absolutely. To recap the incredible journey 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:29.820 we've just tracked. We started with Morgan Gildersleeve, 00:15:29.940 --> 00:15:31.879 a young woman from the quiet town of Matatuck. 00:15:32.019 --> 00:15:35.240 We watched her go to Parsons, utilizing an illustration 00:15:35.240 --> 00:15:37.960 major to effectively design her own striking 00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:41.559 visual identity, complete with that iconic, vogue 00:15:41.559 --> 00:15:43.960 -recognized aesthetic. Setting the stage perfectly. 00:15:44.259 --> 00:15:46.840 We saw her leverage that into a major label deal 00:15:46.840 --> 00:15:49.679 with Epic Records, creating an otherworldly synth 00:15:49.679 --> 00:15:52.379 -pop sound that earned millions of streams and 00:15:52.379 --> 00:15:55.340 crowned her an idol to outsiders. A very specific 00:15:55.340 --> 00:15:58.159 niche. We witnessed the transition. into vulnerability 00:15:58.159 --> 00:16:00.820 with a personal project that landed her a major 00:16:00.820 --> 00:16:04.100 film placement in Songbird. And finally, we tracked 00:16:04.100 --> 00:16:06.500 her through a massive five -year industry gap, 00:16:06.659 --> 00:16:10.539 leading to a mature, patient 2025 LP focused 00:16:10.539 --> 00:16:15.179 on nostalgia and lasting love. The fusion of 00:16:15.179 --> 00:16:17.559 visual art and music didn't just coexist for 00:16:17.559 --> 00:16:20.240 her. They combined to create a deeply resonant 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:23.320 brand that evolved exactly as she did. As we 00:16:23.320 --> 00:16:25.279 wrap up this deep dive, I want to leave you with 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:27.720 a final lingering question to turn over in your 00:16:27.720 --> 00:16:30.639 own mind, based entirely on the trajectory we've 00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:32.940 seen in these sources. What's the question? If 00:16:32.940 --> 00:16:35.360 an artist's earliest foundational projects are 00:16:35.360 --> 00:16:37.179 built entirely around the identity of being an 00:16:37.179 --> 00:16:39.799 alien or an outsider, and their later, more mature 00:16:39.799 --> 00:16:42.059 work shifts toward universal themes of nostalgia, 00:16:42.340 --> 00:16:44.779 like 15 Forever, and the deeply human desire 00:16:44.779 --> 00:16:58.679 to make love last. Wow. That is a brilliant question 00:16:58.679 --> 00:17:01.320 to end on and something for all of you to mull 00:17:01.320 --> 00:17:03.659 over today. Thank you so much for joining us 00:17:03.659 --> 00:17:05.779 on this deep dive. We loved unpacking this with 00:17:05.779 --> 00:17:07.960 you. And we invite you to keep exploring these 00:17:07.960 --> 00:17:10.599 ideas in your own worlds. Until next time.